Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Just when it seemed the drama surrounding Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings had simmered down, things have re-ignited this week. Speculation has surfaced suggesting he still wants to be traded, wants more guaranteed money in his contract or even could consider retirement.
Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer added some intrigue on Wednesday by saying Peterson can “play for us, or he can not play”, and Peterson took it a step further by going on a Twitter rant Thursday afternoon.
I’ll spare you a sampling of the specific tweets, which you can view here, but Peterson suggests the Vikings should honor his contract and presumably convert some of the $14.75 million he is due in 2016 into guaranteed money. Peterson’s 2015 salary ($12.75 million) becomes guaranteed at the start of the regular season, and the Vikings have given every indication they intend to keep him and pay him that money. The only thing Peterson really has to do is show up, even if he chooses not to attend any OTAs and forfeit a $250,000 workout bonus.
Peterson is far from the first NFL player to express disgust with his contract. Some of that is justified too, with a lack of fully guaranteed money and how teams can dispose of players at their discretion. That is how contracts are structured in the league though, with teams having the power, but Peterson seems to think those issues are unique to him.
Yet again, Peterson has shown how much he lacks self-awareness. This time it’s about how the business of the NFL works, particularly for a 30-year old running back that just missed almost a whole season. No running back, or any player that age, gets guaranteed money put back into his contract. Right or wrong, that’s the reality Peterson and his “camp” need to come to grips with.
Part of an agent’s job is to remain realistic and convey that to their client, and Ben Dogra has done Peterson no favors in that regard. It appears Dogra is trying to feed Peterson’s ego in an effort to keep representing him, which in some way I don’t blame him for, but that also may help explain why his previous agency fired him.
Peterson needs to start to show some savvy regarding his situation, and going off on Twitter does serve that purpose at all. Thursday’s rant is another in a string of ridiculous news that has surfaced regarding how he views the situation he created by abusing his son, and Peterson’s lack of judgement off the field continues to be the overwhelming headline.
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
